New coach, new optimism for Lady Wolves

Staff photos by Tom Kelly IV ¬ Cheyney's Kyra Hines-Allen (20) goes up for a layup over Mercyhurst's Taylor Krusinski (25) during the Cheyney University vs Mercyhurst women's basketball game at Cheyney on Saturday, January 12, 2013.

THORNBURY – You would be hard pressed to find a more optimistic head women’s basketball coach in the PSAC than Kyle Adams, who is taking over the Cheyney program after serving for two years as an assistant under Marilyn Stephens, who was fired in the offseason.

But Adams’ enthusiasm is directed more toward building a program than focusing on specific results from the 2013-14 campaign. And he knows first-hand the kind of monumental challenge that lies ahead.

“No one can have higher expectations than I have, but I am also realistic,” Adams said. “It’s important for us to build a program, so this is not a one-year thing. We want to build a foundation of stability.”

The program has been quite unstable since Adams returned to his alma mater. The Wolves are 1-50 since the fall of 2011, following a winless season with a 1-24 mark last winter.

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“Confidence is a huge issue,” Adams acknowledged. “But I think we’ll get better and gain confidence as the season goes on.”

Programs are principally judged on how it performs against conference opponents, and CU is just 3-53 against the rest of the PSAC during the last three seasons. It came as a surprise to no one when the Wolves were picked to finish last in the eight-team PSAC East in a preseason poll by league coaches.

“Our upperclass players haven’t won very many PSAC games, so it’s definitely at the top of our goals to be more competitive in our conference,” Adams said.

With that in mind, Adams brought in strength and conditioning expert, Matt Blose, after pinpointing it as an area of major concern.

“Even when I was a student here as an undergrad, I felt there was always an issue with conditioning with the ladies,” he admitted. “As we move forward with our foundation, getting in better basketball shape and improving strength has to be a big part of it.”

Cheyney has had particular troubling winning games at Cope Hall, having dropped the last 28 home games. Adams believes if his team can play more fundamental basketball, the students and faculty will be more likely to attend the games. And if that happens, he believes his players will then elevate their level of play.

“We want a team that exhibits effort and enthusiasm on the floor. We want kids locked in and focused,” Adams said.

“We want to put a team on the floor that people are excited to come to see. If we can make strides in our work ethic and enthusiasm, you will see bigger crowds that are more engaged and that will help us translate that into more success.”

The squad’s top scorer a year ago (11.9), sophomore forward Kyra Hines-Allen is back, and so is senior guard Lachelle Miller, who led the team in assists (1.5) and was third in scoring (7.9). Miller has been moved, however, from point guard to shooting guard in order to make room for a pair of transfers: Amber Genwright (from Division I Maryland-Eastern Shore) and Kia Whitley-Duncan (Frederick Community College).

“(Genwright) is a winner – one of the most positive kids I’ve ever been around,” Adams said.

Senior forward Alexis Peterson is coming off a knee injury but has solidified another starting spot. The center position is up for grabs and is currently a three-way battle between senior Cristina Jordan, junior Destiny McFarlane and freshman Kiana Jackson.

“(Jackson) has been very impressive and is pushing the upperclass players for minutes,” Adams reported.

For the last few seasons, the Wolves have had all kinds of trouble in just about every statistical area, but Adams has pinpointed a pair that must be addressed: turnovers and rebounding. Last season Cheyney committed an average of 21 turnovers per game and were outrebounded by 4.2 per contest.

“We need to take better care of the basketball,” Adams said. “You can’t give yourself a chance to win if you give the ball back to the opposing team.

“And there is no reason we can’t be more competitive on the glass every night.”

If CU can get those areas shored up, it should be reflected on the defensive end. The Wolves surrendered 71.4 points per game last winter.

“I view myself as a defense-first coach, and to have a chance to be successful, we are going to have to be sound defensively,” Adams said.